The Two Regrets I Carry From High School

I was blessed to play college basketball at a great junior college where we finished in the top-10 in the country, and I was able to finish my college basketball career at a very competitive division 2 school. I had a great experience playing college basketball, but I do have two regrets. Those two regrets are my grades and work ethic.

I tell every high school freshman that the best advice I can give you going into high school is to make all A's on your first report card. Not being more focused on and serious about my grades as a freshman and a sophomore is one of my greatest regrets. When I was a senior in high school, I was getting recruited by a few different Ivy League schools because of my academic test scores, and I even went on a couple of official recruiting visits to Ivy League schools, but when they did a deep dive into my grades, they saw that my grades as a freshman and sophomore would keep me from getting admitted.

I could have gone to an Ivy League school to play sports if I would have taken my grades more serious my first two years of high school.

What I have learned as a teacher and a coach is that most freshmen and sophomores don't realize how important their grades are, and they get themselves in trouble before they even know it. Starting your high school career off right with getting all A's on your first report card will get you on track and set yourself up for success for when it really matters as a junior and senior when college coaches start calling you and when you start applying for schools. Plus, making an A on your first test and on your first report card makes your teacher look at you and treat you like an 'A student.' That perception of you will help you throughout the rest of the school year.

The second regret that I have is that I stopped working as hard and as consistently as I could during my last couple of years of high school ball. If I could do it all over again, I would have created a routine and stuck to it. It is easy to get distracted as you get older. Having a simple routine that you stick with throughout your high school career will help you reach the goals that you want. Something simple is saying, "I am going to dribble the ball for 20 minutes every day," or, "I am going to make 100-200 shots at least 5 days a week," or, "I am going to do 5-10 extra sprints after every practice," can help you stay focused and on the right track. Plus, there are videos all over YouTube that you can watch to see how hard kids just like you are working, what they are doing, and how consistent they are. The answers to the test are out there; you just have to want to go find them.

Grades and routine. Work ethic and commitment on and off the court. Those two easy, meaningful, and impactful things can literally change your life.

Below is a video of Azzi Fudd. Azzi is a freshman at UConn and is one of the best high school basketball players we have ever seen. Her mom said that they committed early to dribbling the ball 10 minutes a day, 6 days a week. You don't need to spend 4-5 hours a day to be great. You just need consistent effort over time:

Below is a video of Hailey Van Lith. Haily is a sophomore at the University of Louisville, and one of the best basketball players in the country. When she was in the 4th grade, her and her father made a commitment to spend time everyday in the gym. In high school, her and her father worked out everyday after practice:

Make a plan and stick to the script.